Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS) has announced that it will cease its Kraft paper manufacturing activities in the East Angus (Québec) plant because of unfavourable market conditions and the failure of discussions concerning the plant's transfer and turnaround. Close to 175 employees will be affected by the closure, which will come into effect by October 3, 2014 . By closing the plant, Cascades is withdrawing from the Kraft paper sector definitively.

"With the arrival of new competitors that convert newsprint paper machines to produce Kraft paper, and the ongoing weakening of market conditions for our products, the East Angus plant has not managed to maintain a competitive edge in the market despite significant investments and serious recovery efforts," explained Luc Langevin , President and Chief Operating Officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group. "Last November, we announced to employees our decision to withdraw from the industry. At the time, we offered them the plant debt free. After several months of ongoing efforts on the part of buyer Gino Lévesque, the Québec government and Cascades to come up with a financial package, the project was abandoned because of a lack of new investors. With the failure of the turnaround project and the loss of numerous key employees, today we are forced to announce the end of these activities."

"Naturally, we are very disappointed that the project failed," said Mario Plourde , President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades. "However, we would like to thank the employees' provisional committee, the buyer and the Government of Québec for the work they put into the project over several months in the attempt to save jobs. Since our strategic orientations are focused on growth in the packaging, tissue paper and recovery sectors, it became impossible to keep the plant open with its inability to regain profitability. Following today's announcement, Cascades will assume all of the plant's responsibilities, notably the employee pension plan."

To assist the employees affected by the shutdown, Cascades will do everything in its power to relocate personnel to other units. It will work with the union and the governments to reduce the impact of the announcement on the workers and the community.

Cascades would like to extend its sincere thanks to the employees of the plant for their loyalty over the years. It hopes that it can rely on them to continue to serve its customers until the plant closes.

It is important to note that this announcement does not concern the coated boxboard manufacturing plant located in East Angus .

SOURCE Cascades Inc.

Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) has announced that it priced $300 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2025 (the "Notes"). The Notes will have an interest rate of 5.375% per annum and are being issued at a price equal to 100% of their face value.

The company estimates that the net proceeds from the offering will be approximately $296 million after deducting discounts and estimated offering expenses. Clearwater Paper intends to use the net proceeds along with Company funds and funds drawn from its revolving credit facility to redeem all of its outstanding 7.125% Senior Notes due 2018.

As the offering was a private placement, the notes were offered and sold only to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and to certain non-U.S. persons in transactions outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes that were offered have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the notes nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This news release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.

This press release contains information about pending transactions, and there can be no assurance that these transactions will be completed.

Source: Clearwater Paper Corporation

ANDRITZ (Wuxi) Nonwoven, China, part of international technology Group ANDRITZ, will present its state-of-the-art technologies and services for nonwovens and technical textiles at CINTE Techtextil 2014 in Shanghai from September 24 to 26, at hall E07, booth C02.

Assembly facilities, a service center with roll repair workshop, and a technical center with a complete needlepunch pilot line make the ANDRITZ Nonwoven site in Wuxi an all-round partner for the nonwovens industry in Asia. ANDRITZ systems integrate advantages of various technologies and provide reliable solutions, within a global network, in all nonwovens segments, from hygiene to geotextiles, coating substrates, filtration, or automotive applications. In the new workshop, lines and individual machines are preassembled before being delivered to customers. Key components, such as crosslappers, cards, drafters, needlelooms, and hydroentanglement systems are manufactured locally. The ANDRITZ aXcess lines, manufactured and assembled in Wuxi, target the medium-capacity production segment and include the proven technologies from ANDRITZ Asselin-Thibeau, ANDRITZ Perfojet, and ANDRITZ Küsters. Especially for the aXcess line portfolio, ANDRITZ (Wuxi) Nonwoven supplies opening and blending equipment (in cooperation with the French company Laroche, which specializes in this sector).

neXline needlepunch aXcess in the ANDRITZ (Wuxi) Nonwoven technical center, China

The technical center comprises an industrial scale aXcess needlepunch pilot line including the A30 needleloom for customer trials and product development with integrated laboratory to test nonwoven fabrics. With their comprehensive know-how, ANDRITZ employees offer genuine spare parts and prompt service support. Another focus lies in workshops and training sessions for Asian customers.

These qualifying courses enable the on-site personnel to be well versed in ANDRITZ technologies and keep the plant at top performance. The new roll service center includes a test stand and grinding equipment for repair, reconditioning, and upgrade of all types of rolls for nonwovens, textile, and paper processes.

ANDRITZ (Wuxi) Nonwoven roll service center

“Photos: ANDRITZ”.

Voith and Cheng Loong Corp. signed the tissue machine contract for Cheng Loong TM 16 on July 18, 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. This order continues the successful partnership between the companies Cheng Loong and Voith.

The TM 16 will be installed in Chupei, Taiwan, and will start up in September, 2015. It is based on a VTM 3 tissue machine concept from Voith and the scope of supply contains the newest technology which consists of a single-layer MasterJet Pro T headbox and the NipcoFlex T shoe press for reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, an 18-foot steel Yankee cylinder for best heat transfer and thus optimum thermal drying efficiency as well as a high-performance steam hood and the MasterReel reel belong to the scope of supply. Also included in the delivery are forming and press fabrics.

TM 16 will produce high-quality dry crepe toilet paper and hand towel with a wire width of 3,796 mm and a design speed of 2,200 m/min. As technology leader, Voith focuses on less energy consumption, less fiber usage and more flexibility in operation to fulfill industry demands. With the signing of this contract with Cheng Loong, Voith will strengthen its leading position in innovative technologies for the tissue industry.

Cheng Loong Corp. was established in 1959 and is an international paper making and service group with its footprint in China, Vietnam, Japan, USA and in the rest of the world. The annual production capacity is 2.2 million metric tons of paper and paperboard. Cheng Loong Corp. is ranked among the top 100 paper companies in the world.

The International packaging and paper manufacturer Mondi introduced BIO TOP 3^® twenty five years ago and in recognition of the long-term performance of its unique off-white, TCF brand is now offering BIO TOP 3^® 80 g/m² in a CO₂ neutral version to further strengthen the paper’s exceptional environmental credentials.

First developed as office paper, then as a hybrid paper for offset printing and now also available for high-speed inkjet applications, BIO TOP 3^® has kept pace with market developments. BIO TOP 3^® was developed in Mondi Neusiedler in 1989. At the time of its ground breaking launch, it was the world’s first TCF paper on the market and continues to be produced totally chlorine free and without any optical brightening agents (OBAs) today. As a result the paper retains a natural uncoated feel with an off-white shade.

“In the meantime we believe it is not a shade but an attitude – towards more: More versatility for different applications, more environmental requirements, better colour reproduction and more impact with printed products. That is the secret behind BIO TOP 3^®’s enduring success on the market,” said Johannes Klumpp, Marketing & Sales Director, Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper.

BIO TOP 3^® is also EU Ecolabel and Austrian Environmental Label certified, with a Life Cycle Assessment and bears Mondi’s Green Range label for sustainably produced products. It is suitable for digital, preprint and offset applications. With the launch of the BIO TOP 3^® LOOKBOOK, Mondi’s high-end marketing tool showcasing the power of paper to complement good design, BIO TOP 3^® is positioned primarily for premium catalogues, corporate design & sustainability reports, and premium books. As in recent years, Mondi has chosen BIO TOP 3^® for the printing of its sustainability report, Sharing our sustainable future 2013, which is available upon request or online under www.mondigroup.com/sustainability. This positioning document provides an insight into what sustainable development means to Mondi within a global context.

“I often get asked to recommend a sustainable paper and when I do I always say BIO TOP 3^®,” says Angie Rattay, founder of the charity platform NEONGREEN NETWORK and the annual EARTHtalks held in the Hofburg. “It is also the paper I chose for the Earth Talks programmes again this year.”

“The absolute USP of BIO TOP 3^® is the appearance of the print. Customers, who want to have both a stylish and sustainable look, are right on track with BIO TOP 3^®,” says Ad Ekelschot, Manager Komori Graphic Center Europe. “The smoothness and evenness of the surface of BIO TOP 3^®, in combination with Komori’s H-UV curing system, gives the print a unique, realistic and sharp image. Besides that after the printing process “powdering” is not necessary – in contradiction with traditional offset printing; the prints are instantly dry and therefore the concept of ‘print, finish and supply’ is another USP,” adds Ekelschot.

Mondi’s innovative BIO TOP 3^® LOOKBOOK, an art and design catalogue launched in 2013 to showcase the potential of BIO TOP 3^®, was recognized with the Golden Pixel Award 2013 and the Printissimo 2013 awards.

“Be it a limited edition artistic screen print by Perfekt Prints or the latest Triumph Essence autumn/winter dessous catalogue, with BIO TOP 3^® we are in touch every day with our customers – and that since 25 years, ” concludes Klumpp.

“Strong quarterly performance - the transformation journey continues”

Jouko Karvinen, Stora Enso CEO until 31 July 2014, comments:

“The second quarter came out at the high end of our expectations, essentially driven by the better than expected performance of Renewable Packaging and by the Company’s 22% overachievement of the EUR 200 million annual structural cost reduction target. Those achievements combined with the significant improvements in earnings in Printing and Reading and in Building and Living are yet another proof point of the resilience and fighting spirit of the Stora Enso people. As regards Biomaterials, I am happy to see that the ramp-up of Montes del Plata is at, if not beyond, the industry standards.

As this is my last quarterly report after seven years at the helm of the Company, I also want to say a sincere thank you to all our stakeholders for the seven challenging but also rewarding years. So much more remains to be done, but I am confident the same strong interest and support that I have experienced will continue for Stora Enso and its new CEO Karl-Henrik Sundström in transforming Stora Enso into a global renewable materials company.

Finally let me say that I am very happy to hand over the CEO role to Karl-Henrik Sundström. In his two years with the Company he has demonstrated business acumen, strategic thinking and people focus. I am confident that with the great people of Stora Enso, he will do well on the journey to the future.”

Karl-Henrik Sundström, Stora Enso CEO from 1 August 2014:

“I am very honoured to have been trusted to lead Stora Enso. It is exciting to continue on the chosen path and build the future of the Company together with our competent and committed employees. One of my short-term priorities is to build a winning team which can take us forward. Due to the strategic importance of sustainability issues, I will also put more resources into the corporate responsibility area. Currently, I am deepening my knowledge of Stora Enso’s packaging and biomaterials offering, as this business is partly new to me.

Stora Enso’s transformation into a company with increased customer focus goes on. We will continue to deliver value through the Montes del Plata Pulp Mill in Uruguay and our consumer board machine investment in Guangxi, China. The acquisition of the biotechnology company Virdia and the conversion of the Varkaus Mill fine paper machine in Finland to produce virgin-fibre-based containerboard are yet further examples. It is all about winning, together with our customers, today and tomorrow.”

Stora Enso will record non-recurring items (NRI) with a negative net impact of approximately EUR 106 million on operating profit and a positive impact of approximately EUR 1 million on income tax in its second quarter 2014 results. The NRI will decrease earnings per share by EUR 0.13.

Corbehem Mill planned closure
The main item is a negative NRI in Printing and Reading of approximately EUR 81 million due to the planned permanent closure of the loss-making Corbehem Mill in France, including approximately EUR 7 million of non-cash write-down. The cost of the planned closure is based on the French legal requirements.

Since October 2012, Stora Enso has been actively searching for a solid new owner for Corbehem Mill offering a sustainable and long-term solution for the site and its employees. Despite significant efforts involving M&A and legal advisors and a dedicated project team, this search proved unsuccessful. The total operational EBITDA of the unit since the beginning of the process was a negative EUR 34 million.  

The mill has been at standstill since January 2014. The employee representatives’ information and consultation process at the mill has now been completed. The social plan negotiated and concluded with the trade unions was validated by the French labour authorities on 10 June 2014. Under this social plan, Stora Enso will offer support to Corbehem Mill employees to alleviate the consequences of the redundancies related to the closure of the mill.

Other non-recurring items

• a negative NRI in Printing and Reading of approximately EUR 34 million due to fixed asset impairments and inventory write-downs related to the ongoing disposal of Uetersen Mill in Germany. The transaction will be delayed from the original target of mid-July due the regulatory approval process.
• a negative NRI in the segment Other of approximately EUR 9 million due to termination of an agreement in logistics operations.
• a positive NRI in the segment Other of approximately EUR 18 million due to land swap arrangements in the Group’s equity accounted investment Bergvik Skog.

CEO Per Lindberg comments on the development during Q2 2014:

“We deliver a strong and stable result for the second quarter. Our adjusted operating profit reached SEK 467 million and our operating margin was 9%. Overall, I am pleased with our financial performance. The market place has been quite good with solid demand and stable prices within all business areas. Business area Packaging Paper has managed to keep the prices stable during the quarter in spite of increased capacity on the market, and has increased prices on new orders within the sack segments thanks to a seasonally strong demand. Within business area Consumer Board we have launched the next generation of Cartonboard products on the market, which has been very well received by customers. Business area Containerboard has delivered a stable result for the second quarter but is beginning to feel a real pressure from the increased capacity on the market.

We continue with our ambition “Challenging conventional packaging for a sustainable future” with the aim of increasing the level of innovation and leadership. During the quarter we have received confirmation in several areas that we are right on target with our mission. Several countries are putting regulations in place for reducing the use of plastics in packaging. We offer sustainable alternatives to several plastic applications, and sustainability is our top priority. We have received recognition from both EcoVadis and "oekom research", meaning that the company is acknowledged for its sustainability work. During the quarter, we have also made a decision to further improve the environmental profile of the company through a major investment in Gävle. Following our ambition to increase innovation and product leadership, we have during the quarter decided to invest in next generation fluting at Gruvön, enhancing both product performance as well as machine capacity. On the more innovative side, BillerudKorsnäs and Berghs School of Communication are giving Spotify a physical form. It is this year’s edition of a packaging design contest for students at Berghs and this is the first time an online brand will be physically packaged.

During the first half of 2014 we have delivered an operating margin of 10%, and a growth in sales volumes over last year with 4%, in line with our profitable growth targets and our long term strategy. The integration work has progressed as planned and as already communicated, the realisation of synergies is happening faster than first planned. All employees have done a fantastic work all across the company, in numerous different projects that constitutes the integration program. However, the pace of integration in combination with synergy-related incentives will increase the non-recurring costs for realising the synergies with approximately SEK 25 million for the year. It is my belief that this is money well spent.’’

Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. has awarded Pöyry with the assignment for EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) services for an anaerobic bioenergy project at its Whitecourt pulp mill in Alberta, Canada. The project involves integration of anaerobic hybrid digesters into the pulp mill's existing aerobic effluent treatment system. Recovered organic material will be converted to biogas, used to fuel two reciprocating engines that will produce up to 6 megawatts of renewable green power for use by the mill itself. Recovered heat of engine exhaust gas will be used in pulp drying to reduce the use of natural gas.

Pöyry's scope of work comprises typical EPCM services such as project management and scheduling, overall engineering management and detail design services, procurement and contract administration, cost control, construction management and co-ordination of the commissioning activities. The planned startup of the plant is August 2015.

"This project is a good example of utilising innovative technology in a smart way to convert organic waste material to renewable energy. It is also an important EPCM reference for Pöyry in North America" says Ari Asikainen, President of Pöyry's Regional Operations North America.

The value of the order is not disclosed. The order will be recognised within the Regional Operations Business Line order stock in Q3/2014.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has successfully completed start-up of the tissue machine PrimeLineTM W8 with steel Yankee supplied to Shandong Sun Paper, Yanzhou mill, Shandong province, China. The machine (PM27) has a design speed of 2,000 m/min and a width of 5.62 m. The Yankee, manufactured entirely of steel, has a diameter of 18 feet.

With the successful start-up of the plant supplied to Shandong Sun Paper, ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER is strengthening its position as one of the leading suppliers of tissue machines including local services in China.

The turnkey supply included the complete stock preparation plant and the automation system as well as a re-evaporation and heat recovery system that recycles energy – in the form of steam – to the production process. In combination with the steel Yankee, this enables very energy-efficient and safe production.

Start-up of a second ANDRITZ tissue machine for Shandong Sun Paper (PM28) is scheduled for next year.